Posted by: jra Tags: Logic
The next section in this blog entry that I’m going to cover is how you retain all of those wonderful ideas that have obtained using the previous steps. Mr. Watts give us a directive that is outlined as:
| Direct II. Use the most proper methods to retain that treasure of ideas which you have acquired; |
| for the mind is ready to let many of them slip, unless some pains and labour be taken to fix them upon the memory. And more especially let those ideas be laid up and preserved with the greatest care, which are most directly suited, either to your eternal welfare as a Christian, or to your particular station and profession in this life;
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| for though the former rule mends a universal acquaintance with things, yet it is but a more general and superficial knowledge that is required or expected of any man, in things which are utterly foreign to his own business; but it is necessary you should have a more particular and accurate acquaintance with those things that refer to your particular province and duty in this life, or your happiness in another. |
OK, Justin that’s all well and good, but am I supposed to do with that? I’m glad you asked that question, because there is a contemporary tool available to you to retain any and all ideas you may come up with:
Chandler – Chandler is a software application that is essentially a “To-Do” list on steroids. You can also access your calandar through a web portal and you can share lists and calandars between you and friends.
Goto Chandler for more details.
Notebook – I know this is old-school and if you have a Blackberry or a PDA, you can use that, but the bottom line is have some sort of material whereby you can record your ideas as they form in your brain, because internal memory only goes so far.
Posted by: jra Tags: Logic
“Direction I: Furnish yourselves with a rich variety of ideas; acquaint yourselves with things ancient and modern; things natural, civil, and religious; things domestic and national; things of your native land, and of foreign countries; things present, past, and future; and above all, be well acquainted with God and yourselves;” Logic: The Right Use of Reason in the Inquiry after Truth – Isaac Watts, Page 69.
To be successful with any idea is to have lots of ideas. One word of caution; If you out of blue experience an idea that no one seems to have thought of, you need to find out why first. It could be because someone smarter than you saw problems or potential roadblocks for that specific idea.
When in doubt, always perform through research on your ideas if you are planning on using them to design or build something and thereby to avoid potential roadblocks down the road.
The list below is by no means a comprehensive methodology for generating ideas, but I think it is a good start and as you use the tools and methods suggested you will most likely come up with your own.
Posted by: jra Tags: Logic
1.Try to find an idea by searching the archives of the forum you are interested in(e.g., history, theology, etc.)
2. Try to find an idea by searching the Web.
3. Try to find an idea by reading a book on the subject.
4. Try to find an idea by reading a FAQ on the subject.
5. Try to find an idea by inspection or experimentation on existing ideas. to see if new ones can be abstracted.
6. Try to find an idea by asking a skilled friend in the area of interest.
Posted by: jra Tags: Logic
For our contemporary readers this most often is addressed in the verb “observation” as to what may be observed in any one or all of the five senses that human beings are capable of. This becomes vitally important in logic because of three reasons:
1. When a proposition is being presented there needs to be a consistent mechanism from which to prove the given premise.
2. If I just say I feel that the sky is blue, this of course is subjective to me and it could only be subjective to me so that you would never be able to confirm the premise that the sky is blue.
3. Finally, without having a consistent understanding of perception and the objects and references associated with it, it would be impossible for human beings to communicate at all.
Let’s take the last point in relation to the english alphabet. If I cannot observer through the sense of my vision that the order of the alphabet follows: A, B, C, etc.., but you can how would I ever be able to form words that you would understand? So it is not just perception that needs consistency, but objective perception so ideas can be understood on common ground between persons.
Check back soon as I will cover the “Nature of Ideas” and how to obtain new ones.
